Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-03-10
A PERSIAN AT HOME.
AN AMERICAN AMONG THE SUBJ
JECTS OF THE SHAH.


JeCTS OF THE SHAH.
Greeted by the Wives and Their Babies.
The Evening Heal-Solace of the Pipe.
Music on the Guitar-A Visitor Ar
rives.
RayZa Mohammed is my servant He IS
good Mussulman, although not strictly ortho-
dox, belonging to the sect Of Dawoodees and
believing that strong drink was given By
Allah TO cheer the heart Of man Being .
jolly fellow and good Moslem, he has three
wives 1t does not take much to support
three wives in Persia, hardly more than to
support one, that is among the poorer classes.
The first wife he married when she was IL and
he IL She was his cousin, fair Mayrich, and
she lords it over the other two, being rela-
tive. It's o'clock, and / have dismissed
Rayza for the night. As be enters the low
door of his little house by the Dwazeh KAswin,
he greets his women folk with: Peace be
with ye:" and they reply in chorus: @With you
also be peace and the goodness of Allah"
The babies, however, are not quite so formal
They chamber up on his knees as soon as he
the floor and arranged around him in a num-
Der Of small tin platters, each covered with q
cone shaped dish.
THE EVENING MEAL
Their respective mothers bear the little
mischiefs away, though, and the papa gravely
dips his fingers in a brass basin and goes
through the form of the religious ablution.
Then he reaches out for the various dishes.
In one there is the succulent rice made beau
tiful to look at by saffron and little shreds Of
mutton In another there is roast lamb. In
another there is sour soup, favored with
lime juice and containing bits OF meat He
helps himself to all these good things in turn,
his sleeves being tucked up TO the elbow,
using no knife, fork or spoon, but instead
pieces of the habby, fat bread which he tears
off from slice as big as a sheet and lying at
his right hand side Dexterously he scoops
up the gravy and the broth, and is soon
ready for his dessert, which consists of Gu
cumbers, peaches and sicily from heaven" q
species of pudding made OF rice -four and
pistaches. He then Uses, goes m front Of the
house to the brink o. the Kanaut canal Of
running water, conducted from the icy tops
of mountains, and drinks from the hollow
of his hand good draught Meanwhile the
women and the children have simultaneously
made ravenous attack upon the remnants
of the edibles, and when the master returns
they have finished.
Rsyza sits down On bis rug spread out
on the raised part of the room facing east
SGhalyan biar, he says briefly. His faverite
wife, Mayrich, brings it TO him, first setting
the charcoal and the moistened Shiraz "tam-
beki" in a glow by pulling at the black
mouthpiece herself for minute and blowing
out the thick, powerful smoke through her
nostrils. The pipe is in first class working
order and the water makes its pleasant bub-
bling sound at regular intervals as he inhales
the smoke. "Khoub est, Rayza says, which
expression Of approval On bis part makes
Mayrich, for the moment, the focus of his
other wives jealous eyes. The Persian is not
talkative with his wives, although he is gem
Serally kind and indulgent to them Tho re-
igious law having ordered all these things,
down to the minutest detail, there is much
less jealousy and wrangling among the dff-
ferent wives and with their lord than one
might suppose. But in this particular case
there was perhaps Just cause for jealousy, be-
cause it was really that evening Maleks turn
to wait on the husband and 10 become his es-
pecial companion. She, however. Is only q
Temporary wife" and her rights are there
fore not strictly respected.
THE GUITARS TINLE.
Rayza contentedly and silently smokes on
for another five minutes The women have
cleared away the dishes and have smartened
themselves up bit. Malek has put yellow
rose in her black tresses and kneels down at
Aold L
tween her fingers, on which she forthwith
begins to tinkle. She is an expert. There
is not much music in this instrument-fash-
ioned like two inverted hearts meeting at the
points and covered with seven strings-to q
western ear, but it delights Rayza, especially
when the babies begin to crow in unison with
its monotonous twang twang.
At the moment there is a shriIl cry: sAdam
r1irarad" "a man is coming, and all three
women at once throw their face veil over and
turn their backs to the door, through which
at that moment enters Ali Zadar, friend to
Rayza, employed as scribe in the house of
noble "Thou camest propitiously," says
Rayza, rises from his sitting posture and po-
litely bows to his guest, inquiring at the same
time with extreme minuteness after his
health, progress and temper. All this being
satisfactorily answered and the women hav-
ing meanwhile retreated backward into a
smaller room adjoining, Rayza invites his
friend to sit down alongside of him and yields
his own ghalyan (water pipe) to his guest, Or
dering at the same time a new pipe. This
and a bottle of arrack Strong, raw liquor
made Of rice) are brought by the yelled Malek,
who in handing it to Rayza whispers some
thing into his ear, to which he mockingly
replies: @Not before the moon rises" The
The two friends smoke and drink now for
some time, occasionally interrupting this
with some quotation from the poets illustra-
tive of the fact that happiness is feeting and
must be made the most of while it lasts Thus
an hour has passed.-Cor. New York
Graphic.